Silverlake music Wunderkind KamranV and club Spaceland have launched a new label, Spaceland Recordings, that specializes in live shows. We had a chance to find out about the innovative project on a recent visit to the brand new ExPlex venue beneath the Echo.

Erin Broadley: How did this all begin?

KamranV: The way all this started was Billboard and the LA Times sort of simultaneously found out about the label. We did a couple of interviews with them. They did a couple of big articles on us so we decided to put together a press release.

HJ: The press came to you!

KV: Yeah, it was an ideal situation. It was like, "Oh shit, this is working!"

Mitchell is the one that started this 12 years ago. He is Spaceland, LLC, and he has really built this amazing foundation where bands can come up and its a community and it's fun and unique. Its very different than any other venue in the world. You can be a celebrity and go to the club or you can be some random guy off the street. Its lax. Everyone there treats everyone equally. Mitchell has been doing his thing there forever.

I was at Interscope for years and years. I have label and studio background. Ive produced records. Ive done a lot of new technology things and my old boss, Courtney, who was part of The Echo and Malo was friends with Mitchell. So thats how I got introduced to him, and I managed bands like the Nervous Return who played a lot at Spaceland. About a year ago Mitchell and I started brainstorming. I wanted to expand upon this concept of live recordsI even tried to do it at Interscope, but there were a lot of politics involved. Its very difficult there with big artists, big producers, big lawyers

Part of the charm [with live recordings] is that its this moment. So were trying to capture these moments. Theres this amazing community, these amazing things that happen in clubs every night. For me, this is what I'm passionate about. I wish that first Beck show at Spaceland had been recorded. Because, for me, not being from LA, I didnt even know what was going on and if I had known what was going on I would have wanted a way to be a part of it. This is my way of allowing everyone else to be a part of what theyre passionate about.

It started with the Monday night residencies at Spaceland. We started with Darker My Love, and actually did their entire residency and put it out and it turned out way better than we expected. I decided to toy around and see which nights worked best.

EB: It's nice that at this point you guys are still able to toy around with the ideas of live recording as the label is taking shape. Youre able to create your own format for it based on what does and does not work.

KV: Yeah, exactly. And we just started using video. On the music side, all the people I work with, because of my fortunate past, are really good at what they do and are as passionate about the music as I am. Were doing it in a way thats very low cost, so our deals with the bands are 50/50. And they get paid from the very first show.

EB: Thats very hard to come by these days.

KV: Yeah it is. And the bands, if youre making and recording demos, for a band at that level its like youre getting all this shit for free.

HJ: What kind of conflicts exist between bands on other labels when you, as a different label, put out their live recordings?

KV: As far as conflicts, actually, thats a good question. The way the music business is right now, unfortunately its very fear based. Experimentation is difficult to come by because when youre dealing with music and pop culture it's [about] what makes sense, whats cool and whats not. And a lot of that mentality exists out there, especially in the major label world. And some of the Indie labels as well. But fortunately all of the bands have been really cool about it. DML is on DangerBird, same with Silversun Pickups, and they were all about it. Jeff who owns the label is really cool and it worked out.

HJ: What about creative conflicts when it comes to a label trying to promote and hype a new album when you guys might already have a majority of that album recorded live?

KV: When you go buy or listen to music, you usually dont buy the live album first, you buy the studio one. And even if you do buy the live version, youre going to also buy the studio one. And the fans were going for are already into the band or had this amazing live experience at the venue and they want both.

The way I see the music business going is that music should be free to the fans. So you can get all you want. So the way this is going benefits the bands because if you love a band, you want to be a part of everything, you want to be a part of what theyre doing.

HJ: It reminds me of my wannabe hippie friends in high school, who would collect all of the live bootlegs of the Grateful Dead, as well as the studio albums. They had the studio recordings but they collected anything they could get their hands on. It's almost like you guys are creating these bootlegs that you can legitimize.

KV: Yeah when the bands go out on the road they take this out with them and all of a sudden they have two records to sell and thats double the gas money or food or whatever they use it for. It makes sense. When I managed bands it was always a struggle. For example, the Nervous Return was on a major label and it cost about 9 dollars a record for us to be able to buy the record from the label and we could barely sell it for that on the road. We make them cheap for the bands. It's minimal risk for us and minimal risk for them and theyre getting paid and it's this great new document of their career. For me it's not about whether its the best show theyve ever done, it's about capturing that moment in time where they were on their way up. Youre never going to replace that residency you did at Spaceland 10 years before.

And back to your point about labels, there are some who over think it and are afraid that if they did this then it would affect a record deal they were about to do. The reality is if you do something like this before hand, it helps. You have more leverage in your record deal. When I worked at major labels I can't tell you how many times we paid companies for this kind of opportunityto be on a compilation and or to record a live record or do a session or whatever. Sometimes people dont see it as that because I'm saying I'm going to pay you. It would almost be easier for me to say I'm going to do this promotionally and put you on a bunch of web sites. It's really weird, the psychology of it sometimes.

EB: Like people think it's too good to be true that youd pay them to do something theyre doing anyway like performing live. They get worried theres a catch

KV: Yeah. But ultimately once we talk about it then they get it and relax.

HJ: Are you guys only going to be marketing complete shows for albums or will you also be marketing one track at a time?

KV: We sell single tracks too. Were distributed all over the world.

EB: So if you went to iTunes you could download one song in particular?

KV: Exactly. A good example is Patrick Park. He was signed to Hollywood records about 5 years ago and was really big in the Silverlake scene. Got a big record deal. Kind of a Bob Dylan type guy. I like him better than Dylan. Im not a big Bob Dylan fan, even though I appreciate him. I like Patrick. I think hes a nice guy and his music is great. He did the record and was in the studio demoing out stuff on his own. Most of the stuff he did with us was unreleased so we put it out and it did really well. It started becoming our biggest seller right out of the gate. Then about a month ago one of those songs that was on the record he did with us, which was unreleased, ended up on the OC. I just found out last week that we sold 4000 [mp3s] of that song in one week. He did really well because of that. That live show for him was one of the first shows where he was really starting to come back and [play around town again]. It was a good moment for him and it worked out for everyone.

EB: How are you picking the acts that you choose to record?

KV: There are a lot of factors. I wish I could be in there every night of the week but I cant. At this point its about resources so it depends. Mitchell and I work with the bookers Jen and Liz and decide what we feel would be a good show to do, worth putting in the effort, bands that are cool to work with.

EB: It seems like the family/community vibe is really Important to you guys so it makes sense that you would want to choose acts based off things like developing longstanding relationships with the bandslike bands that are going to come back around.

KV: Exactly. It's very much the same way booking works. Thats exactly the vibe and what we look for. Sometimes we talk to bands and it just may not be the right time or they might not be comfortable. They way we work is, if we record a show and the band doesnt like it then were not going to put it out. Thats always a question we get asked.

HJ: So they can veto?

KV: , can veto. As long as they veto before I go into the studio to mix because the mixing is the most expensive part. We take so much time and care and the people that work on it are renowned and good at what they do so it gets expensive.

HJ: Are you guys thinking about doing any compilations?

KV: Yeah. Im working on one right now. Just talked to the bands today. Some are in, some are a little bit on the fence. Its a live compilation so well see what happens. I dont want to jinx it.

EB: When you were growing up were there any shows that stood out in your mind where now you wish they could have been recorded along the lines of Spaceland recordings?

KV: The Beck/Foo Fighters show. I love both those artists.

EB: Were you there for the show?

KV: Hell no. I lived in Oklahoma! (laughs). I grew up in Oklahoma and we were lucky to get any shows at that time.

EB: Yeah you must have been excited when the Jethro Tull reunion rolled into town. Or Ted Nugent.

KV: Yeah, Ted Nugent! The Steve Miller Band would come through town every summer and that would be the show that everyone went to. I never went.

EB: I know one thing you guys are stressing with this company is the high production value on live recordings, which with all the crap floating around bootlegged on the internet, is practically unheard of.

KV: Yeah, it's really important to me because Im a recording geek.

EB: Like, the live recording doesnt only have to be from the guy standing next to you in the pit with a little shitty tape recorder, shouting to his friends about what a dope show it is and how he wants to get laid after. It's like, crap manits a ballad!

KV: (laughs). Yeah, we have some recordings with people talking during quiet songs but it's part of the charm I think.

EB: I was poking around on the Internet trying to look for any other labels at this point who are doing the same thing and there just arent any focusing on strictly live recordings.

KV: It's pretty unique. I mean, Clear Channel did their thing where they recorded a Britney Spears concert and you could buy it and there are a few other places across the country but they really only focus on the video stuff.

EB: Well, you guys arent just waiting around for a good show to come your way, this is something youve decided to pursue in a more all-encompassing way.

KV: Were definitely aggressive in the sense of wanting to help as many bands as we can. These family bands. And just create something that whether or not its successful or fails it's something people can look back on and be really happy with.

Part of what were doing with our physical product, it's all hand made and with recycled paper. Were looking at doing special packaging for some things. The shrink wrap will be a little different. Were also going to start numbering them to add value to each recording.

HJ Oh yeah, collect them all!

KV Yeah. People dont buy CDs anymore because theres music on them. They buy CDs because they have value to them outside of the music. Theres a way to make music free but still maintain a real business so artists can survive.